WGS 4043/7043: Gender, Sexuality, and International Violence
Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
University of Cincinnati
Spring 2014
Wednesdays 2-4:30 (or 2:30-4:50), French 4616 or TBA
Professor: Dr. Anne Sisson Runyan
Office: 3306 French Hall West
Email: anne.runyan@uc.edu (preferred way to contact)
Phone: 556-6652 (office), 706-0125 (cell in emergencies)
Office hours: Wednesdays noon-1:30 and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
This course engages students in the burgeoning scholarship on the gendered underpinnings and
sexual politics of militarism, war, and other forms of political violence. Over four decades of
contemporary feminist international relations (IR), peace and conflict studies, and security
studies research coupled with more recent transnational feminist and queer research on the “war
on terror” have revealed the depth and complexity of the relationship between sex and death in
world politics. On one level, such scholarship has prompted world attention to the previously
unacknowledged effects of armed conflict on women and thus recognition of the necessity for
women’s participation in peacemaking and peacebuilding projects. On another level, it has
destabilized assumptions about relationships between women and peace and men and war,
complicated understandings of men’s and women’s violence, made connections between
domestic, sexual, and international violence, and challenged the gendered nature of militaries,
violence, and (in)security. On yet another level, it has revealed the centrality of militarized
masculinities, femininities, heteronormativities, and homonormativities to inculcating, accepting,
and sustaining all manner of violent conflicts from imperial wars to genocides. At the same time,
it has explored how violent conflicts and their aftermaths shape gender identities, gender orders,
sexual politics, and feminist politics to serve national and international “security” projects.
Finally, it has both advocated and problematized feminist, queer, and transgendered approaches
to the study of war and peace. This course focuses in particular on the tensions between feminist
“peace studies” and feminist “war studies,” how each unsettles IR and each other in terms of
assumptions and approaches.
Through readings, films, and assignments, students will explore these many dimensions of the
relationship between sex and death in world politics. In the process of “making feminist sense”
of and engaging in feminist debates about how to apprehend gendered international political
violence, students will gain understandings of the multiple openings such analyses provide for
resisting its deadly consequences.
Among the analytical questions that will guide our inquiry include:
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What are the differences between feminist peace and war studies orientations? What are the
relationships between sex and death in the politics and bodily experiences of war and peace?
How are (gender, race, ethnic, sexual, national) identities both produced and destabilized by
wars? How do non-governmental peace movements and inter-governmental peace processes both
challenge and reinforce gender and sexual relations? How are “security” and “insecurity”
redefined through gender lenses? What is the relationship between sexual and international
violence, how has this relationship been taken up by international organizations, and what are the
problematics of such responses? How are militarized masculinities and other gender identities
made and how do they differ in the contexts of state, non-state, and post-national (or
peacekeeping) militaries? How is (racialized) gender integral to the “war on terror” and
mobilizing other “states of emergency”? What are the costs of not seeing the impacts of wars on
women and the presence of women combatants in wars in peacebuilding processes? How would
you change dominant approaches to peace keeping, making, and building as if women and all
people mattered?
Through such inquiry, students should be able to:
Challenge conventional IR (state-centric) approaches to war and peace through gender/queer
lenses
Complicate and interrogate notions of (in)security from feminist perspectives
Distinguish between feminist peace and war studies orientations
Question claims about relationships between men and war and women and peace
Evaluate claims about relationships between gender violence and
international/political/militarized violence
Analyze militarized masculinities, femininities, sexualities, and feminisms
Understand the complexities of making war and peace as bodily and emotive experiences and
social relations
Evaluate gender, sexual, race, class, and nation dynamics in militarist structures and antimilitarist movements
Identify and critique elements of gender, peace, and security policy agendas and apparatuses
Engage readings and visual culture to understand conceptual and methodological developments
and debates in feminist security, war, and peace studies
Collaborate in groups to deepen and pluralize analysis of readings and visual culture
Construct analytical papers, book reviews, and research papers that advance the field of feminist
IR
Recognize the complexities of the politics of militarized violence in which “we” are all
implicated but can make political choices about
This course counts towards WGSS and Political Science undergraduate and graduate program
requirements or electives (as a WGSS interdisciplinary graduate seminar or a WGSS political
studies distribution requirement or a Political Science undergrad or grad elective or transnational
feminism doctoral track course), serves as an undergraduate or graduate elective in other
programs, and fulfills some College (interdisciplinary) and University (social and ethical)
general education requirements. Declared WGSS 4+1 undergraduates should consider taking it at
the graduate level if advised to do so by the WGSS Undergraduate Director.
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REQUIRED TEXTS (available in UC Bookstore in print or through Amazon in print or ebook
form)
Baaz, Maria Eriksson and Maria Stern. 2013. Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? Perceptions,
Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond. New York: Zed Books.
Belkin, Aaron. 2012. Bring Me Men: Military Masculinity and the Benign Façade of American
Empire, 1898-2001. New York: Columbia University Press.
Bhattacharyya, Gargi. 2008. Dangerous Brown Men: Exploiting Sex, Violence, and Feminism in
the War on Terror.
Cockburn, Cynthia. 2012. Anti-Militarism: Political and Gender Dynamics of Peace Movements.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Cohn, Carol (ed). 2013. Women & Wars. Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Sylvester, Christine. 2013. War as Experience: Contributions from International Relations and
Feminist Analysis. New York: Routledge.
Additional required readings listed in the course outline are available on the course Blackboard site.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
In this advanced and relatively small seminar, students need to engage in highly prepared,
participatory, and interactive learning. Course assignments and class discussions require that you
have read/viewed the assigned materials in advance of the class meeting for which they are assigned
(with the exception of Week 1) and are prepared to engage them. The readings are copious given the
likely less familiarity with this topic, but they are largely from the required texts which offer
sustained analyses and will be made manageable through group activities, films (mostly in-class),
and assignments that engage them.
The following assignments are required and are described in more detail in the course outline:
Module One: Group presentations and discussions (10% each): 20% (or 20 points)
Module Two: Class Discussion Assignments (5% each): 20% (or 20 points) and Novel or Film
Analysis due 2/19: 20% (or 20 points)
Module 3: Book Review or Book Review Essay due 3/26: 20% (or 20 points)
Module 4: Research Paper due 4/23: 20% (or 20 points)
An open, non-graded Discussion Board Forum will also be available for student use to share
questions/exemplars/ideas before and after group and class discussions.
COURSE POLICIES
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In this course, all informed points of view will be listened to and respectfully considered. In
addition to being respectful of each other in class discussions and within groups, students are
also expected to keep up with and critically engage with the readings, films, and other course
materials through in-class discussion assignments; electronically submit written work on time;
and avoid plagiarism of any kind by appropriately documenting sources of quotations, ideas, and
arguments.
Class attendance and participation are mandatory. While 1-2 classes missed will not result in a
non-attendance penalty (although graded in-class discussion contributions missed will result in
no points for those activities missed), 3 missed will result in a full grade deduction from the final
grade and 4 or more classes missed will result in failure of the course without medical or other
emergency documentation and making alternative arrangements for course requirements with me
in such cases. Please let me know in advance if you are having problems with attendance,
assignments, or course materials so I can help you in any way I can to avoid poor grades,
failures, or failures to complete the course.
Written assignments must be submitted by their due dates for full credit. Assignments submitted
late will generally result in point deductions (.5 of a point per each day late with nothing
accepted more than three days late) unless there is a documented medical or other
emergency/serious problem (including technical ones) of which the instructor is informed of in
advance of the due date so that adjustments can be made if warranted. Given the collaborative
nature of this course, it is vital that students keep up and do their fair share on time so that they
are responsive to their student colleagues and do not negatively affect the work of their student
colleagues.
Blackboard support is offered by emailing blackboard@uc.edu or calling 556-1602 with any
technical questions you have or problems you might experience (see also HELP button on
Blackboard). You should also contact me if you are having technical, assignment, submission,
health, or other course problems by email (anne.runyan@uc.edu (or cell in emergencies at 513706-0125). I will respond to queries within 48 hours and will usually complete grading within a
week of submission. I will advise students if I will be out of contact or delayed for any longer
period.
All are expected to abide by the University Rules, including the Student Code of Conduct, and
other documented policies of the department, college, and university related to academic
integrity. Any violation of these regulations, including acts of plagiarism or cheating, will be
dealt with on an individual basis according to the severity of the misconduct. It is each student's
responsibility to know and comply with the Student Code of Conduct, which defines behavior
expected of all University of Cincinnati students and behavior considered misconduct. Sanctions
and penalties are outlined. The Code of Conduct is available in the college office and online at
http://www.uc.edu/ucinfo/conduct.html Definitions of cheating, plagiarism, and penalties are in
the Code of Conduct. The definition of plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: copying
another student's work, copying materials without proper citation, paraphrasing without proper
citation and failing to cite all sources used and/or consulted. Examples of unacceptable
plagiarism can be reviewed at: http://www.Indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html#original
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If you have any special needs related to your participation in this course, including identified
visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical impairment, communication disorder, and/or
specific learning disability that may influence your performance in this course, you should
contact the instructor to arrange for reasonable provisions to ensure an equitable opportunity to
meet all requirements of this course. At the discretion of the instructor, some accommodations
may require prior approval by Disability Services.
Students can get help from the Academic Writing Center by visiting
http://www.uc.edu/aess/lac/writingcenter.html or calling 556-3224 to schedule an appointment
or a series of appointments with a tutor. It is important to schedule in advance and not wait until
the end of the semester. If, on the basis of initial assignments, the professor sees that a student
needs a writing tutor, that student will be referred to the Writing Center.
Sally Moffitt (sally.moffitt@uc.edu) is the UC Langsam librarian specializing in women’s,
gender, and sexuality studies and political science resources and you can contact her about any
research assistance you might need.
Grading (points/percentages) will follow the University schema: 93-100 = A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89
= B+; 83-86 = B; 80-82 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = C-; 67-69 = D+; 63-66 = D; 60-62
= D-; below 60 = F
Any alerts about new course information/instructions will be done through Blackboard
announcements and/or email.
COURSE OUTLINE (subject to some change)
Module One: Feminist International Relations and Security Studies
Week 1 (January 8) An Introduction to the Course and Feminist IR and Security Studies
Readings (try to read Blanchard and Sylvester prior to our first class meeting and complete the rest
during first week of class)
Blanchard, Eric M. 2003. “Gender, International Relations, and the Development of Feminist
Security Theory,” Signs 28 (4): 1289-1312
Runyan, Anne Sisson and V. Spike Peterson. 2014. Global Gender Issues in the New
Millennium, Fourth Edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Chapter 4 “Gender and Global
Security”
Tripp, Aili Mari. 2013. “Toward a Gender Perspective on Human Security” (excerpt). In Gender,
Violence, and Human Security, eds. Aili Mari Tripp, Myra Marx Ferree, and Christine Ewig, pp.
3-22. New York: New York University Press.
Sylvester, Introduction
Week 2 (January 15) Feminist Peace Studies vs. Feminist War Studies
Readings:
Cohn, Chapter 1; Cockburn, Chapter 1; Enloe, Cynthia. 2013. Seriously! Berkeley: University of
California Press. Chapter 1, “Who is ‘Taken Seriously’?”
Sylvester, Chapters 1 and 2; Baaz and Stern, Introduction and Chapter 1
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Video: Enloe and Cohn Taft workshop presentation
Class Discussion Assignment:
Class will be divided into two groups (during Week 1), with one group concentrating on “feminist
peace studies” readings and the other on “feminist war studies” readings. Groups will be given time
in class to identify key arguments from each approach, present them, and then debate those
arguments in terms of the differing feminist analyses and political projects they represent. Group
presentation/discussion grades (applied to individuals in them) worth 10%
Week 3 (January 22) Gender Violence vs. Violence of Gender
Readings (to complete before class)
Video: Critically Examining UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (YouTube)
Cohn, Chapter 3
Baaz and Stern, Chapter 2
Sylvester, Chapters 3 and 4
Zalewski, Marysia. 2013. Feminist International Relations: Exquisite Corpse. London: Routledge,
pages 85-103.
Class Discussion Assignment:
Class again will be divided into two groups (the same or different as determined during Week 2),
with one group concentrating on how various deployments of gender illuminate understandings of
the relationships between gender violence and international violence and the other concentrating on
how some deployments of gender occlude understandings of both gender violence and international
violence. Elements of each are in each reading, so students might want to divide up the readings
within their groups. Each student within each group should also identify at least one online resource
(website, blog, etc) of an NGO (academic or activist) or IGO on the topic of gender, peace,
conflict/war and/or security and post their urls on the open discussion board forum and say
something about them. Again, groups will be given time to meet to identify the main arguments
supporting one or the other position, present them, and debate the merits and problematics of the
positions. Group presentation/discussion grades (applied to individuals in them) worth 10%
Module 2: Militarized Masculinities/Femininities/Sexualities
Week 4 (January 29) Imperial Masculinities and International Violence
Readings:
Belkin, Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2
Brown, Melissa T. 2012. Enlisting Masculinity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 7,
“Recruiting a Volunteer Force in Wartime”
Bhattacharyya, Chapter 2
Video: Tough Guise
Class discussion Assignment:
Each student is to bring in/post one question to class that interconnects arguments from two of the
readings that will prompt group and class discussion on elucidating and/or complicating the making
of imperial militarized masculinities. Also bring/post the title of one example of a popular culture or
documentary film or novel that you think might lend itself to an analysis of militarized masculinities.
We will also be collectively analyzing the film shown in class through insights from the readings in
class discussion. Worth 5%
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Week 5 (February 5) International Violence and Colonized/Subordinated Masculinities
Readings:
Bhattacharyya, Chapter 3
Baaz and Stern, Chapter 3
Belkin, Chapter 6
White, Aaronette. 2007. “All the Men are Fighting for Freedom, All the Women are Mourning Their
Men, but Some of Us Carried Guns: A Race-Gendered Analysis of Fanon’s Psychological
Perspectives on War.” Signs 32 (4).
Video: Battle of Algiers
Class Discussion Assignment:
Each student is to identify and be prepared to present (can also post in advance) two quotes from two
different readings that counter essentialist constructions of “dangerous brown (or black) men” to
prompt group and class discussion. Also be able to analyze the video through White’s discussion of
the limitations of Fanon’s analysis (for women and men). Worth 5%
Week 6 (February 12) Violent Femininities/Sexualities
Readings:
Cohn, Chapters 6 and 7
Sjoberg, Laura and Caron Gentry. 2011. “The Gendering of Women’s Terrorism.” In Women,
Gender, and Terrorism, ed. Laura Sjoberg and Caron Gentry, pp. 57-80. Athens: University of
Georgia Press.
Bhattacharyya, Chapter 4
Belkin, Chapters 3 and 4
Video: Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Class Discussion Assignment:
Each student will summarize one reading and lead a brief discussion of it. Each student should also
bring in/post the title of one popular culture or documentary film or novel that they think might lend
itself to an analysis of militarized femininities/sexualities. Also be prepared to reflect on capacities
for, performance of, and consumption of torture across genders in relation to the film. Worth 5%
Week 7 (February 19) Feminist/Queer Violence
Readings:
Bhattacharyya, Chapter 2
Baaz and Stern, Chapters 4 and 5
Mason, Corinne L. 2013. “Global Violence Against Women as a National Security ‘Emergency’.”
Feminist Formations 25 (2): 55-80.
Cohler, Deborah. 2010. “Firemen Fetishes and Drag King Dreams: Queer Responses to September
11.” In Gender, War, and Militarism, ed. Laura Sjoberg and Sandra Via, pp. 219-230. Santa Barbara,
CA: Praeger.
Puar, Jasbir. 2008. “Feminists and Queers in the Service of Empire.” In Feminism and War:
Confronting US Imperialism, ed. Robin Riley, Chandra Mohanty and Minnie Bruce Pratt, pp. 47-55.
London: Zed Books.
Video: Homonationalism Gone Viral (Jasbir Puar, YouTube)
Class Discussion Assignment:
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Drawing two examples from the readings and an argument from the video, be prepared to discuss
how “we” (feminists/queers) can be complicit with international violences. Worth 5%
Written assignment:
Prepare and submit on this date a 5-7 page (double-spaced in Word) novel or film (documentary or
popular culture feature film or episode of a TV series) analysis (examples of novels and films that
could be used are provided in the texts or in the class materials, but you can also choose others that
represent real or imagined armed conflicts) that engages an analysis of gender and militarized
violence dynamics—either reproducing or disrupting gender and militarized violence norms--and an
analysis of its representations (or not) of bodily and emotional experiences of war which draws from
the course readings to this point. Worth 20%
Module 3: Gender, Feminism, and Anti-Militarist and Peace Politics
(Instructor will provide some prompts for class discussion for each of these weeks)
Week 8 (February 26) Contemporary Re-Readings of Some Past Examples of Women’s Peace
Activism
Readings:
Cockburn, Chapters 1 and 2
Wu, Judy Tzu-Chun. 2013. Radical on the Road: Internationalism, Orientalism, and Feminism
During the Vietnam Era. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Introduction and Chapter 7
Roseneil, Shasha. 2000. The Queer Feminisms of Greenham: Common Women, Uncommon
Practices. London: Cassell. Chapters 1, 6. and excerpts from Chapter 9 (225-231, 237-242, 246-249)
Video: Hypevisibility and Invisibility Parts 1-3 (Wu lecture on YouTube)
Week 9 (March 5) Gender Troubles in and Transformations of Peace Movements
Readings:
Cockburn, Chapters 2 and 7
Kwon, Insook. 2013. “Gender, Feminism and Masculinity in Anti-Militarism: Focusing on the
Conscientious Objection Movement in South Korea.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 15
(2): 213-233.
Kotef, Hagar and Merav Amir. 2007. “(En)Gendering Check Points: Checkpoint Watch and the
Repercussions of Intervention.” Signs 32 (4).
Video: Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Week 10 (March 12) Gender in International Peace and Security Policies
Readings:
Cohn, Chapters 8, 9, 10
Kronsell, Annika. 2012. Gender, Sex, and the Postnational Defense: Militarism and Peacekeeping.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 3, “The Postnational Defense and the Cosmopolitan
Military”
Video: War Redefined
HAPPY SPRING BREAK!
Week 11 (March 26)—NO CLASS
Written Assignment:
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For undergraduates, 1000-word book review of one of the assigned texts due. For graduate students,
3000-word book review of three of the assigned texts (or some others in this area of their choice)
due. Both double-spaced and in Word. Instructions for writing a book review or book review essay
for a feminist journal will be provided early on in Module Three. Worth 20%
Module 4: Reconfiguring Relationships between Gender, Sexuality, and International Violence
(Beyond discussions of final readings, students will present on their research papers in progress
during these sessions)
Week 12 (April 2) Prospects for De-/Trans-Gendering Peace and De-Securitizing Gender
Cockburn, Chapter 5
Belkin, Epilogue
Sharoni, Simona. 2000. “Gendering Resistance within an Irish Republican Prisoner Community: A
Conversation with Lawrence McKeown.” International Journal of Feminist Politics 2(1): 104-123.
Sjoberg, Laura. 2012. “Toward Trans-Gendering International Relations.” International Political
Sociology 6(4): 337-354.
Rescheduling of Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Paper topics
Week 13 (April 9) Prospects for De-Militarizing Security, Knowing War, and Refusing
Violence
Bhattacharyya, Conclusion
Sylvester, Chapter 5
Cockburn, Chapters 8 and 9
A Piece of your choice from e-collection on Histories of Violence to present on
Paper research progress
Week 14 (April 16) Course Conclusion and Evals
Prelim reports on papers, other wrap-up activities?
Final Written Assignment due April 23:
Students are to choose a topic within the context of feminist “war studies” or “peace studies”
(prompted by some aspect of the course materials) on which to write a research paper (8-10 pages
for undergrads, 12-15 pages for grads inclusive of references, double-spaced and in Word, and using
a consistent citation style of their choice with at least 5 references for undergrads and 8 references
for grads, the majority of which academic). Topic choices will be processed in class prior to Spring
break. Worth 20%
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